Atonement
by Self Proclaimed Running Boss
Summary: Victoria is sent to assist Daniel on his quest, but their lives are more closely entwined than either of them knew. As Daniel begins to remember what happened in Brennanburg, the truth begins to unfold and he can hardly bear his new memories. Afraid to tell Victoria for fear of losing her, Daniel keeps these memories to himself. How long can Daniel hide from the truth?
1. Chapter 1

Victoria:

I stood outside the wrought iron gates of Brennenburg. The mansion was beautiful in the setting sun but I felt something in the air, like there was more to be seen. I leaned against one of the cool iron bars thinking back to why I was here in the first place.

I had been sitting at home, about to put some tea on the fire when I felt a presence. I turned to see the ghost of my sister who had been kidnapped months before. She had asked me to do something for her and of course I had agreed to whatever she asked. She said what I was to do would not be easy but needed to be done.

My mind returned to the house in front of me. This had to be where she had died. Anger filled my entire body but I calmed myself quickly. I had to honor her wishes. I pushed the gate and found it was unlocked. It swung forward on poorly oiled hinges, the screech of iron made me shiver with foreboding. I shook my head and willed myself to concentrate, I had to find Daniel.


	2. Chapter 2

Daniel:

I stumbled through rooms and dimly lit corridors. The potion was working quicker than I expected. But there are things that mustn't be forgotten. _I am at Brennenburg, my name is_ – I paused trying to remember – _Daniel. I live in London at – Mayfair._ _I must find him – I must kill him._ Finally the potion worked its magic and I fainted, hitting the flagstones hard.

I awoke in a corridor, not remembering how I got there. In fact there was very little I did remember.

I got to my feet looking around as I did so. Behind me it looked as if the passage had fallen in, large gray boulders and long wooden beams blocked the path. The faint breeze in the corridor caused dust to rise off the rocks forming an eerie fog. To my right was a wooden door which I pushed open making a loud noise that I feared might have alerted someone to my presence. However, upon sticking my head out the door I found no one was in the open passage to the right. I turned back to the room.

It was small with what looked like once was a rich red carpet. The tiny space was sparsely furnished with only a wardrobe and a small wooden desk with three drawers in the middle of the room. On its tan surface was a small cylinder. I walked up to it and realized it was a tinderbox used to light candles. Figuring it might come in handy, I grabbed it and put it in a bag I found in the wardrobe. After a final sweep of the room I was ready to leave and so continued into the open corridor ahead.

Like the small room, the corridor was dark and gloomy. There were many rooms containing tinder boxes and one even had an old lantern that I shoved into the bag as well. At one point a strong wind came from nowhere and blew open a door to my right, an unsettling event certainly, but I took the hint and went inside. There I found a note from a rather unexpected person written on a yellow, crumbling parchment, the note read:

_19th of August 1839,_  
_I wish I could ask you how much you remember, I don't know if there will be anything left after I consume this drink._  
_Don't be afraid Daniel. I can't tell you why, but know this, I choose to forget. Try to find comfort and strength in that fact. There is a purpose. You are my final effort to put things right._  
_God willing, the name Alexander of Brennenburg still invokes bitter anger in you. If not, this will sound horrible._  
_Go to the inner sanctum, find Alexander, and kill him. His body is old and weak and yours, young and strong. He will be no match for you._  
_One last thing. A shadow is following you. It is a living nightmare – breaking down reality._  
_I have tried everything and there is no way to fight back. You need to escape it as long as you can._  
_Redeem us both Daniel. Descend into the darkness where Alexander waits and murder him._  
_Your former self,_  
_Daniel_

I stared at the letter. I chose to forget everything? What memory could possibly be so bad that I would rather forget everything than remember that one thing? I wanted myself to kill someone? A little much to ask of someone only now learning his name and what happened, then again, I suppose I _was_ asking it of myself. What had this Alexander done to deserve death? Why couldn't I spare the time to explain a little more? Didn't I owe it to myself to explain why I had to kill a man? Worst of all, there's some shadow following me? I assumed I hadn't been talking about the normal one; so what was I on about? What did I mean by 'escape as long as you can'? My head was reeling and I began to feel paranoid standing there in the dark, alone, with only a reminder from the past to protect me. I backed up until I felt the wooden desk – home of the note from me – and looked around rapidly, wondering if the shadow was there in the room with me. My pulse quickened and my breathing sped to a point that I was in danger of hyperventilating. I felt sick with fear; I had to get out of the dark.


	3. Chapter 3

Victoria:

I pulled on every door I saw and all were locked tight. As dusk turned to night I was becoming extremely agitated with everyone and everything. Who locks all the doors to a basically deserted castle that no one wants to go near anyway? Why did my sister send me here in the first place? What's so special about this Daniel character? Why did I have to wear trousers? Women don't wear trousers.

My last question was answered quickly when I walked into a thicker part of the woods surrounding the castle. The bramble and undergrowth would have made the trek impossible with a dress considering how hard it was with pants.

Pants weren't so bad.

"Ugh!" my exclamation was swallowed by silence. Everything about this castle now seemed lifeless. There were no noises in the woods, the trees had no leaves and even the evergreens were missing their needles. The castle looked dead as well, the paint was chipping off the outside, the once beautiful carvings in the doors were now combinations of rust, rot, and general deterioration, and many parts of the castle were falling apart. In the daytime, at least, the old beauty could still be appreciated, but at night, Brennenburg simply looked eerie.

I continued through the woods, trying to stay calm even though the gloomy atmosphere was getting to me. Up ahead was a large iron door, bigger than the others I had tried; this one felt promising. I quickened my pace; desperately wanting to get inside where I hoped would be safer. I had been thinking about how I was going to find Daniel when a sound drew my attention.

Mine were not the only footsteps in the woods.

With the lack of noise it was easy to hear that between each noise I made, a soft dragging noise was sustained with occasional footsteps.

"Hello?" I called into the seemingly empty forest.

For a while I could hear nothing, but suddenly I heard a low moan. The noise made me jump and I stood still for a moment considering the sound. It definitely wasn't human. I tried to be quiet as I moved away from the moan, but it was difficult to keep my breathing under control. After a few steps I decided to hide in a bush and let it pass me by. The slow dragging steps had followed me somewhat so as I crouched and turned I saw the shadow of what looked like a person trudge by. Daniel? I certainly hoped not, the moan it had earlier made sounded more like an animal and I wasn't prepared to trust this thing let alone help it. I just hoped it wasn't him.


End file.
